Xavier Cross
Xavier Cross is a character created by Lacuna Shade. He is a Bug-type Pokemon Trainer from Azalea Town, Johto. His travelling partner is Tawny Harshman. About the Trainer Appearance There would be no trouble in finding Xavier Cross in the middle of a crowd, even if that crowd is full of people wearing all the seven colors of the rainbow. His pink hair, which he keeps in a short ponytail thanks to a grey scrunchy his late sister has bequeathed him, is a dead giveaway. Uncoiled and set free, his hair would flow into a chaotic mesh of waves upon waves upon waves. Even the grey steel-toothed comb he is never without could not help straighten those strands of pink. He would try every day, and every day he would fail. Having been well travelled in the past, Xavier has acquired a tan that does not seem to fade, giving him the eternal look of someone who loved the sun so much, he bathed himself in its scorching rays. Of course, that would be untrue. Xavier does not love the sun that much. He doesn’t even like the idea of it, a hot afternoon the last thing he would ever dream about. Xavier stands at 5’9” and weighs exactly 151 lbs, the importance of either never a question, or an answer, to him. They were just mere numbers, and Xavier did not really care about numbers. The most defining piece of clothing Xavier Cross has is the grey long-sleeved jacket he is always seen wearing. Contrary to popular belief, he has three of them. Two of his signature jackets are always kept clean as reserves for when the third, which would be the one being worn, meets a grimy end, thus consequently must be washed. Under that grey jacket is usually a pink turtleneck. Not many would notice, or care to notice, the intricate design of the turtleneck, which involves the internationally recognized symbol for feminism (a fist inside the Venus symbol, all of which in a darker shade of pink called amaranth), a single rose flower, and a dagger. Xavier rarely takes his jacket off but when he does, one would immediately notice the giant silhouette of a butterfly on the back of that pink turtleneck. Coincidentally, Xavier has the same butterfly silhouette as a tattoo on his own back. To him, the butterfly represents freedom and his personal belief that even the smallest action you take will have a large effect as the consequence. Xavier’s preference for white pants and matching white sneakers represents his view on abstinence, a practice that was instilled in him since the day he was born, and his non-existent belief of things absolute. When not in battle, Xavier carries a large black backpack where he stores everything he’ll need to survive, like his laptop and his books. You will never see him without a book, as Xavier is an obsessive bibliophile. Personality Xavier Cross is like a coin: he has two sides. On one side, there is Xavier who could distinguish and, to a degree, emulate the feelings of both human and Pokemon. On the other side, there is the cold and callous Xavier whose main focus is the pursuit of intellectual knowledge for both training and battling Bug-type Pokemon. The latter Xavier can’t be bothered by anyone else, as he views that these people, all competition, are simply distractions. But of course, as an intellectual and as an empath, he knows and feels that this aspect of himself will completely and utterly become a giant obstacle in his continued progress, if it isn’t already. This is where Tawny Harshman comes in. During battles, he furthers a compromise by exploiting his ability to distinguish the emotional status of his opponents and coming up with the necessary strategy to gain the upper hand. Although, if you ask Tawny, his empathy may just be based on psychology textbooks. It would be obvious when Xavier opens his mouth that he has a bit of a flair for language. He tends to go on full sentences just to express himself, usually whenever he’s passionate about whatever it is he’s talking about or the main reason why he’s talking in the first place. He also knows two foreign languages, namely, German and Russian. Sometimes, Xavier would talk in either just to throw someone off. But for just anyone to access this part of him would be improbable. Xavier only talks to people he really cares about or if it’s absolutely necessary. Still, his love for language is just growing. He has plans to learn more foreign languages and has taken to reading language books during his spare time. And then there is Xavier’s obvious love for books. The Perks of Being a Wallflower? To Kill a Mockingbird? The Catcher in the Rye? A Clockwork Orange? The Great Gatsby? Lolita? Check, check, check, check, check, and check! If you’d ask anyone who has met Xavier, anyone who has spent at least an hour with him, they’ll probably tell you that he gives off an “I love books more than people” vibe. It’s 100% true. Xavier does love books more than he loves people. He never fails to answer, when someone asks why, that “people die; books don’t.” He is very well read. There is no text he won’t put in front of his eyes. His passion for the written word spills out to writing his own literature. Xavier is a fan of writing. He loves to write. He craves to write. There will come no day when he doesn’t write. Each day, he would always find time to write even just a few words in, the least of which has been 2000 words. As such, he keeps his own blog, where he mostly writes about his adventures. Having grown up in an environment with a matriarch, where the women knew and emphasized that their role was vital in society, it was only inevitable for Xavier to follow in their footsteps. He is a supporter of the philosophy, of the movement, albeit he can only call himself as a pro-feminist in lieu of respect towards gender-sensitive issues. Xavier incorporates a lot of feminist motifs in the clothes he wear and is an obvious practitioner of the values as well. However, his hopeless romantic and chivalrous tendencies usually clash with his feminist views, often in trivial matters like when he’s torn between opening the door for a girl as a gentleman and letting the girl open the door herself as a form of support for female empowerment. Furthermore, Xavier’s cold intellectual demeanor doesn’t discriminate between male or female: everyone is a distraction. Still, it’s easier said than done. You can never force yourself from falling, even for just a brief moment. A major flaw in Xavier’s character is his short fuse. He has a notoriously short temper, which sometimes gets him in trouble. As much as possible, he tries to calm himself, to control his emotions, to focus on his strategies to win a battle. However, it doesn’t always go according to his plans. When a battle gets longer than he’d like it to go, he tends to lose his cool and start making brash decisions that end with his inevitable downfall. He has anger management issues, unable to control himself when he loses it. It’s not harmful to anyone else but himself, though, as he can only resort to punching walls and yelling insults at the sky and thrashing anything that can’t fight back (for example, a table). He also has the tendency to become depressed, usually whenever he would lose a battle, but it would only take a few words from Tawny to straighten him out. Sometimes, however, as in the case of someone close to him dying, his depression will take a few days or a week before it wears off. Xavier also has problems with his social presence, or lack thereof. Because he’s already contented with his books, he has taken little to no appreciation of the company of other people, which makes him socially handicapped. He would rather observe from afar, taking himself out of the sandbox, than participate directly with other people. Xavier knows he’s an introvert, that he has a tendency to be too quiet for anyone’s liking, but he’s incapable of dealing with it on his own terms. He would usually need Tawny’s advice to overcome even the simplest of problems, like what to say to someone who subtly needs his company. The fact that he treats people like they’re characters in a book doesn’t help. Because Xavier tried to be a chef first before he ever thought about becoming a Pokemon Trainer, he has acquired the essential skills for making good food. His love for cooking equals only his love for literature, both writing and reading, as well as his love for language. It’s also his cure for depression. History Before Furoh Although he was born in Hoenn, specifically Mauville City, Xavier has visited the other five regions, with the only exception of Furoh. He has lived in all of them for at least a month and at most nine months. Her mother and father were both natives of Johto. His father was a sailor who worked for Captain Stern as his second-in-command, whereas his mother worked as a salesclerk in Kanto’s Celadon Department Store. When he was born, their family settled back in Johto, in the small town of Azalea, simply because his mother couldn’t find him a babysitter for her to continue working at the department store. Xavier Cross grew up in a feminist environment. He grew up with his mother, his older sister, his two aunts, and his three cousins who were all women. His father and his uncles were all sailors, one uncle for S.S. Anne and another for S.S. Aqua, and thus could only spend a few months for every one to three years with him and their own families. The first time another boy was born into their immediate family, Xavier was already way past puberty. Xavier only had one sibling, an older sister named Karina. While Xavier dreamed of becoming a chef, Karina was devoted to becoming a Pokemon Champion. Karina was the exact opposite of Xavier: loud, boisterous, all over the place, happy go lucky, and very much emotionally stable. She was only 24 when she passed away. It was during her travels in Furoh that she was never able to return to her family, never again. He had just turned 21. Everyone in the family was devastated, especially their father who immediately returned to Johto once he heard the news. His father has since stayed home with their mother, quitting his luxurious job in Hoenn and settling for a cozier job making custom Poke Balls while his wife works at the Poke Mart. To cope with Karina’s death, Xavier took over her dreams. He surrendered his apron and chef’s hat to wear her shoes. Xavier took great pride in his sister and couldn’t bring himself to not do what he thinks he must do to continue honoring her. Much of Xavier’s current personality is borrowed from his sister, inspired even. Her death took a great toll on him, rendering him socially crippled and emotionally unstable. The fact that he wasn’t able to do anything about her death, with the distance and his age, coupled with his lack of control about the situation, only aggravated him. When Xavier revealed his decision to his parents, they were disheartened and even asked him not go on with it. But he had already made his mind up. He was set to leave Johto to follow in her sister’s footsteps. Upon hearing this, one of his long-time friends, Tawny Harshman, an 18-year-old Pokemon Breeder and former assistant to the Nurse Joy in Azalea Town, made herself Xavier’s travelling partner. Although he wouldn’t want to admit it, he knew that with Tawny by his side, it wouldn’t be too bad. Before he left for Furoh with Tawny, Xavier made a quick stop in Unova to meet an old friend, Maxine, a female Pokemon photographer who resided in Castelia City. It was her who gave Xavier a crash course on Pokemon training, battling, breeding, and everything else that he would need to make his dream, her sister’s dream, a reality. It was also during his stay in Unova when he first met both of his current Pokemon. Maxine had taken him to Pinwheel Forest for a demonstration on capturing and battling wild Pokemon when they came upon a single Sewaddle. Xavier managed to capture it with help from Maxine’s Blitzle, naming it Ezekiel before eventually shortening it to just Zeke. The entire time, a Joltik had attached itself to one of Xavier’s legs, attracted by Maxine’s Blitzle’s Electric moves. The Joltik tried to discreetly leech from Blitzle but the larger Pokemon felt it on its pampered skin and panicked, leading for the Joltik to be discovered by both Xavier and Maxine. Xavier didn’t think twice and captured Joltik right away, naming it Hyde. After more training from Maxine, which lasted for about three weeks, Xavier set his eyes on Furoh. There was no turning back at that point. Even if he could, he wouldn’t. It wasn’t just his neck on the line. It was every part of him. He cannot, will not, disappoint. During Furoh Pokemon Team Hyde (Joltik) If you’re looking for someone to laugh at your jokes, then look no further than Hyde. He’s very, very easy to get along with. He usually has a high tolerance for bullshit and an even lower standard for humor. In battle, he sticks with whatever Xavier tells him to do, having enough confidence in his trainer to surrender his all. He met Xavier at the same time Xavier captured Zeke. He attached himself to Maxine’s Blitzle, hoping to suck her powerful electricity for free but was felt by Blitzle’s pampered and sensitive skin, leaving him vulnerable to getting captured. Xavier wasted no time in capturing him, naming him Hyde from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Hyde’s blue eyes are darker than normal. Zeke (Sewaddle) Like Hyde, Zeke is fiercely loyal to Xavier. He has a heightened sense of responsibility and is irked whenever he loses control of any one situation. He doesn’t have much patience for anything that wastes his time. He first encountered Xavier in Pinwheel Forest and was captured after a battle against Maxine’s more experienced Blitzle. He was first named Ezekiel before Xavier decided to shorten it to just Zeke. The leaf enfolding Zeke’s head has the right side bitten off and the left unharmed. Category:Characters